Saturday, April 26, 2014

"a signe of a gentle stomach"

Folger Shakespeare Library
It is "'a signe of a gentle stomach to geve credence to the doctors and to geve place to theym, as to the better learned.'"

     "Saint Ciril", as quoted by James Brooks in his A sermon very notable, fruictefull, and godlie, made at Paules crosse the. xii. daie of Noue[m]bre, in the first yere of the gracious reigne of our Souereigne ladie Quene Marie her moste excellente highnesse...(London:  Within the late dissolued house, of the Graie friers, by Roberte Caly, 1553), according to Dr. Mark C. Rankin of James Madison University, posting to FICINO on 25 April 2014.

     This I've tracked to:
     Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of John III.v, at John 6:28-29:
᾿Αγαθὸν οὖν ἄρα τὸ μέτριον φρόνημα, καὶ ψυχῆς ἔργον εὐγενοῦς, τὸ τοῖς διδάσκουσιν ἐπιτρέπειν τὸ λυσιτελὲς ἐξεπίστασθαι μᾶλλον, παραχωρεῖν τε οὕτω μαθήμασιν, ἐνεστιᾶν οἷσπερ ἂν ἔχειν οἴωνται καλῶς, ἅτε δὴ καὶ τὸ μεῖζον ἔχουσιν ἐν γνώσει.
     Sancti patris nostri Cyrilli Archiepiscopi Alexandrini In D. Joannis Evangelium, ed. Philip Edward Pusey, vol. 1 (Oxford:  Clarendon Press, 1872), p. 452, from the start of the sentence.  Pusey's own translation of this runs as follows:
it is the work of a noble soul, to commit to her teachers the thorough knowledge of what is profitable, and so to yield to their lessons, which they think it right to instill, seeing they are superior in knowledge.
     Commentary on the Gospel according to S. John, vol. 1:  S. John I-VIII (Oxford:  J. Parker, 1874), p. 357.  Cf. the 2013 translation by David R. Maxwell,
it is the work of a noble soul to rely on teachers for a thorough knowledge of what is profitable and so to yield to whatever lessons they are pleased to offer, since they have greater knowledge.
     Commentary on John, vol. 1:  Book 1 - Book 5, John 1:1 through John 8:43, trans. David R. Maxwell, ed. Joel C. Elowsky, Ancient Christian texts (Downers Grove, IL:  InterVarsity Press, 2013), p. 202.
     Here is a 16th-century translation into Latin, for the benefit of someone searching in Latin:
Proba igitur res humilitas est, & animi nobilis signum doctoribus credere:  ac illis ueluti doctioribus cedere, quando precipiendo nos ad meliora traducere student.

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